Wreck-indicating buoy



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MICHAEL S. ZAPPEY, OF EOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

' wnnoK-rnnroafrrnd BUOY'.-

imanes.

` Specification olf Letters Patent.

Fatented May 3, 1921.

Application inea october 6, 192e. serial no. 414,989.

such ellicient operation as to meet with. all

the requirements for a successful use.

The invention broadly consists of a somewhat balloonlshaped iioat formed of buoyant material in aspecial manner and composed of upper and lower sections detachably connected and chambered to contain batteries, the upper section being provided with an exposed electric lamp with'means to open or close a circuit including said lamp and said batteries 4.ifnanually when desired, and the float being provided with ymeans whereby the device 'may be connected with the deck of ash-ip in the usual'manner by means of a cable or the like. I

Other objects will appear as the nature. of the invention is better understood land the same consists in the novel 'form, combina' tion and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully'described in connection with the accompanying drawings, lin which like reference characters indicate similar parts throughout-the several views.

In the drawings, y Figure 1 is an elevational view of a buoy constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a substantially central vertical sectional view thereof, partly broken away, Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon line lll-III of Fig. 2, f Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the upper portion of the device shown in Fig. 2 to more clearly show details of construction, and

Fig. 5` is an enlarged detail view showing the axial tube and the movable contact mem# ber in transverse section.

Referring more in detail to the several views, the present invention embodies a somewhat balloon-shaped float formed of cork or equivalent material and composedy of a lower female Section 5 having threaded connection with an .upper male! section 6,

the two sections being covered by a serviceable shell '7 also formed lin sections and co'mposed of hard vulcanized rubber orsheet metal whereby the device is made more duthe `float members l`5 and 6 and extend between the latter as at8 so as to form a' packing atV the joint between the two sections 5 and 6 when said shell is made of rubber.

rable. The sections of the shell 7 snugly fit rllh'e two sections 5 and 6 are provided 'i f with central mating pockets which combine to form a suitable chamber 9 when theftwo sections are connected, said chamber being provided with a flatvbottom wall 10 so as to permit of the placement of a pair'of battery f' cells 11 thereon, which cells are immovably secured to the section 5 in any desired Inanner if preferred. i 'i A tube 12 extends axially through the sections 5 and 6 and is provided at its lower end with an eye 13 exteriorly of the float for 4 enabling a cable 14 to bef`readily'attachec'l'in i 8O the usual manner for flexibly connectingthe buoy to the deck'of the vessel. The upper end of the tube 12 is interiorly threaded for detachable reception of the base of an electric lamp 14, and the'upper float section 6 carries an exterior rigid cage 16 which in'- closes saidvlamp seas to protect thelatter against damage; The tube 12 is slotted as at 17 to permit passage of the wires 18 lfrom the batteries 11 to the'interior of said tube, certain of said wires being connected in the proper manner to the tube 12 and others of theV same being attached to a contact 19 which is secured to and insulated from the ytube 12 adjacent the upper end of the latter.

As sh0wn,the upper section 6 -is recessed as. at 20V and the contact 19 projects into said recess. A movable contact member 21 is vertically slidable in the recess 20 and is Y provided with a curvedv lower end 22 arranged to engage thevcontact 19 when said movable contact21 is elevated as shown in Fig. 4 and to lie spaced from the contact 19 'when lowered as shown in Fig. 2. A spring contact'arm 23 is rigid with the contact member 21 and extends inwardly through a vertically elongated slot 24 of the tube 12 so as to engage the central c'ontact of the lamp 15 when said contact member 21 is in raised positionand so as Vto beV spaced from said central contact when said member 21k is lowered as shown in Fig. 2,'the contact member 21 being suitably4 insulated `liant colors for insuring the attraction of the attention of rescuers, which brilliant colors y Vwillbe seen in the daytime and also at night when the lam-p 15 is lighted.

In operation, should wrecking of a vessel occur, an attendant may raise the movable contact member 21 from the position of F ig. 2 to the position of Fig. 4, whereupon the Vlamp 15 is lighted. As the vessel sinks, the

float isallowed to stay upon ythe surface of the water upon paying out of the cable 111 in any preferred or usual manner, thus pro viding a permanent indication of a wreck occurring near the point where the float is located. The float is made in lsections in order to permit ready access to the various parts such as the wiring and batteries and to enable renewal of parts.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction and operation f will atonce be apparent.

yMinor changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the same as claimed. What is claimed as new is: 1. A wreck indicating buoy including a float formed of upper and lower detachably connected sections having pockets forming l 1 a central closed chamber when the sections are connected, a tube extending axially through said sections and having an electric lampdetachably secured in its upper end,

f means upon the lower end of said tube for permitting ready attachment 'of a cable thereto whereby the float may be flexibly connected to the deck of a vessel, battery cells within said chamber having wires electrically connected to said tube, a contact fixed to and insulated from said tube and having other wires of said battery ,electrically connected thereto, and a vertically slidable contact member carried by the upper section arranged to provide-electrical conlnectionbctween said fixed contact and the central Contacty of the electric lamp when elevated, whereby a circuit is established for lighting said lamp.

2. A wreck indicating buoyV including a fioat formed of upper and lower detachably connected sections having pockets forming a central closed chamber when the sections are connected, a tube extending axially through said sections and having an electric lamp detachably secured in its upper end, means upon the lower end of said tube for permitting ready attachment of a cable thereto whereby the float may be flexibly connected to the deck 'of a vessel, battery cells within said chamber having wires elecfixed to and insulated from said tube and having other wires of said battery electrif' cally connected thereto, a vertically slidable contact member carried by the upper section,v

arranged to provide electrical connection between said fixed contact and the central contact of the electric lamp when elevated, Y

whereby a circuit is established for lighting said lamp, said lower and upper sections constituting female and male members havvioint of the same.v

i In testimony whereof I affix my signature. MICHAEL ZAPPEY. 

